What I'd Give
by Yukari Rin
Summary: It wasn't supposed to end this way, but now that it was, he had one final request. SasuSaku with hints of OroSasu.


Disclaimer: Naruto and related properties belong to Masashi Kishimoto and related parties.  
This is dedicated to the awesome and amazing Fuyumiko-sama (her username) who cheered me up and encouraged me greatly a few nights ago. night. She's awesome and I hope she, and you all, enjoy this.

----

The southern wind was hot and carried the scent of rain through the setting darkness. They weren't sure of how long they had been traveling, but all that mattered was whether or not they would make it in time. The leaves brushing against each other as they raced on would have been distracting if the team had not been so focused. It was almost their downfall when they nearly passed what they were after.

_They were late._

It was the platoon's medic who realized the mistake and called for her team to stop. They were confused at first. They hadn't reached the country's border yet. But she told them he was near. Her sureness was met with skepticism by her teammates, but her captain paused. She was sure that behind his mask his eyes were closed as he tried to recognize the man's chakra signature. He shifted and agreed. Taking the lead once more, he jumped into the trees to the right, racing toward their target.

"It's here," the remaining male on the team spoke as he dropped closer to the ground a few moments later. His voice, normally brash, was quiet and serious. He lifted his mask enough that the red triangles on his cheeks were visible and sniffed the air. "So much blood."

They all stood, looking around. "There's too much residual chakra. I can't get a clear reading of the area," spoke the kunoichi wearing an eagle mask.

"Is there more than one chakra signature?" the captain asked anxiously.

"Yes. The greater of the two is strongest about three metres behind our medic. The other chakra...," her voice trailed off as she also lifted her mask, opal eyes searching the forest, "the weakest seems to get stronger as it nears the eastern direction."

"He was heading east?" questioned the captain.

"It would appear to be so," was the quiet reply.

"I don't smell anything living nearby."

The medic tensed. "Does that mean you smell something dead?"

Brown eyes met the medic's own emerald as she ripped her mask off. The once familiar chakra signature was fading, but she couldn't discern if it belong to the same body the scent belong to.

"It does," was the slow reply in an obvious tone.

"Don't be smart, Kiba, can you tell where it's coming from?"

A sniff. "From the same direction as Hinata said before."

Sakura spun around and was quickly searching the area specified. Her heart was racing.

A foot. Resting in a pool of blood. She motioned for her team to join her. The foot was attached to a leg. '_A male_,' she thought as her gaze trailed up the leg. The body was sitting in a pool of blood. A ripped cloak covered some of the man's torso, but did not hide the large wound through his left lung. His head was bowed, dark hair hiding his face. Taking a deep breath, Sakura reached out a hand to lift the dead man's face.

Her fingers instantly became slick with blood. He hadn't been dead for too long, she realized, but his body was already succumbing to rigor mortis. She bit her bottom lip as she forced the dead man's chin up gently. Where his eyes should have been were two gaping holes, his face was covered in crimson so deep it was nearly black.

Hinata squeaked and hid her face behind her captain's arm. "Itachi," was all he said.

"Only one person could defeat him, Naruto," Sakura whispered.

Her comment was met with a nod. "He gave him a chidori through his right lung to make him suffer longer. I don't know if his eyes were ripped out first or not, though."

"What do we do now?" Kiba asked as he scratched his neck, his face twisting at the gruesome sight before him.

"We go east. Follow the weaker chakra," Naruto adjusted his mask and took a deep breath.

"Wait," Hinata ordered, her eyes wide and surrounded by veins. "There's an even weaker chakra. I didn't see it before because of the greater chakras, but now it's slightly more visible. It goes eastward, too."

"Footprints," Kiba called out. "Nothing to say who was here, but there're two sets before they disappear, most likely they jumped through the boughs. At least one of them was injured."

"Let's go."

They set off again, following the chakra trails and assuring themselves of their direction each time they saw a red smear.

Darkness had almost set in completely.

--

He had been careless during the fight and was now paying for it. He grabbed his side and pressed the material he had torn from his brother's cloak into the wound. He cursed as he stumbled along a branch. His breathing was heavy, but he was not out of danger, though. Someone was following him. He smirked. 'Someone weak.' He paused long enough to pull his sword from its makeshift sheath and to activate his Sharingan eyes.

"I see all the training I taught you didn't go to waste," a voice observed. It was faint but laced with its usual malice, "Sasuke-kun." Still, his name was spoken slitheringly.

"You won't win," was the icy reply directed to nowhere, but everywhere. "I beat Itachi, and since you couldn't do that, what makes you think you'll beat me?"

The croaking laughter that grated on the younger man's nerves echoed around him. "I trained you so that your body would be in top physical condition, Sasuke-kun, but all that mattered in the end were your lovely eyes."

"I've mastered them, Orochimaru. You won't defeat me."

"I've no need to defeat you now, Sasuke-kun. Immobilizing you will do just fine!" Orochimaru extended his neck from above, baring his teeth and aiming for Sasuke's neck. Sasuke dodged easily and brought the sword down, cleanly removing the bunshin's head from the rest of its body. He spun around and blocked blow that was speeding toward his head and kicked the bunshin in the abdomen. "If you want to immobilize me, trying doing it yourself. You're wasting chakra like an idiot I once knew."

Anger seared through Orochimaru's mind as he fell for Sasuke's bait. He stepped forward and grinned sadistically. "Surely you remember our promise, Sasuke-kun."

----

"What's that smell?"

Rain began to fall.

"Rotting flesh."

--

Orochimaru leapt towards Sasuke, snakes shooting out from his right arm. Sasuke sliced through them all but loosened his grip when one sneaked by and bit his wound. It was enough for Orochimaru to swing the sword out of Sasuke's hand and order a summoned snake to wrap itself around his former student. "You remember our promise, don't you, Sasuke-kun?"

The snake at his hip sunk its fangs even deep into the wound. Sasuke glared at Orochimaru, willing his murderous thoughts to invade his former teacher's thoughts. "Please, Sasuke-kun, do you honestly think you've seen enough violence and hate me enough to make me fear you? I made you what you are."

"No! You only gave me power, I made myself who I am. I'm no one's puppet," was the scathing reply.

Orochimaru stepped closer, his left hand reaching out and brushing Sasuke's bangs from his eyes. "Such lovely eyes. But it's a pity they aren't as nice as your brother's," the older man cooed as he unfisted his right hand revealing the treasure he had stolen from Itachi. "Kabuto can always transplant them into you."

Sasuke struggled against the snake's hold. How dare Orochimaru desecrate his brother's body. He tried to focus his chakra, but the venom pouring into his body was taking effect, and his brother's jutsu still hung in the back of his mind.

"Of course, that's for _after_ I take over your body," Orochimaru's voice hot and dry fell upon Sasuke's ears. His breath was rancid and his proximity to the Uchiha was far too close for comfort.

Sasuke struggled to remove a kunai from the pouch on his leg, the snake tightening its grip at Sasuke's every movement. He pushed his shoulders lower to wrap a finger through the ring on the kunai's handle and put all of his strength into pulling his arm up enough to stab the end of the snake's body. It unwound before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Blind with rage, Sasuke gripped the kunai and stabbed at whatever part of Orochimaru's body he could reach. He pulled out a spool of wire to bind the Snake Master, but as the older man's arms were squeezed against his body, Orochimaru extended his neck, biting Sasuke's wrist. The wire loosened and the Sannin reached out to grab his desired container, eyes wide with anticipation.

Sasuke jumped back, tearing the snakes from his arm and side. He landed on several wet leaves and focused his chakra to his feet. He brought his eyes up glared at Orochimaru, only to be caught in the Sannin's stare.

-

Sakura felt Sasuke's chakra signature flicker. Ignoring the danger she was putting herself into by racing even faster toward the chakra in the current weather conditions, Sakura surged ahead of her team. She didn't care if she would be reprimanded for not listening to the orders she heard faintly as she sped away. '_Only a little further_,' she told herself as she pushed on.

-----

"Our promise was that I would switch into your body after you defeated Itachi. But you ran away before we had that chance. I refused to give up hope of possessing you, though, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru's voice dripped as the Sannin watched his protégé. "I'm not an idiot, Sasuke-kun. We both know Konoha and all the other villages have been searching for you. That means the Kyuubi brat and that weak little girl never gave up. With them out looking for you Akatsuki was sure to attack them one day. You planned it so that your former teammates' lives would be in danger, all so you could face your brother. You're right: you're not their friend."

A streak of pink flashed behind Orochimaru.

"You killed your brother, Sasuke, and now it's time to keep your word. You needn't worry about restoring your clan, I'll be sure to take care of that for you. You know I've got quite the stock of people with bloodlines to use so your family's name will live on with even more prestige than before," Orochimaru released the sum of his chakra and life force and forced it upon Sasuke. Unable to move or scream, helpless to the invasion he felt with every cell in his body, he felt the urge to throw up. The body Orochimaru had possessed lilted back and forth slowly as the transfer continued.

The sound of metal passing through skin and muscle was followed by Orochimaru's former body falling toward the ground like a rag doll and landing with crunch. Sharingan eyes focused on her, but her gaze was glued to her former teammate's feet.

Both were breathing heavily as the rain continued to sodden their clothes. She wanted to see his face, but she knew it would be dangerous to do so. She swallowed before opening her mouth to speak. "You're hurt, Sasuke-kun," she struggled out.

"You're a bit too late," a cold voice flatly informed her.

"It's never too late," Sakura replied noting the change of subject. She raised her eyes up to the broad chest a few feet away from her.

Her former teammate's chest shook slightly as the soft maniacal laughter escaped from his mouth.

Sakura's heart sank even as it filled with rage and despair.

_She was too late._

Pulling out a kunai, she covered the few feet between her and what was left of the boy she grew up loving and the man she hated with all her heart. She took one of his hands and pinned it to the tree trunk as she pounded her fists against Sasuke's chest. She should have pinned his other hand, she realized as it shot up and grabbed her neck. His fingers tightened around the ivory column as she choked on her tears. She kept her eyes on the trail of red dripping from the palm stuck to the tree.

"Look at me, Sakura."

Sasuke's voice had lost its icy tone. It was forceful, and aside from sounding older, it was as if nothing else had changed. Sakura glanced up.

His eyes were black.

Her own welled with tears.

"Kill me, Sakura."

"I-I can't," she stammered out, tugging on his hand to loosen.

"Stop that. Yes, you can. And you have to." Sakura gasped and strained to shake her head in disagreement. "You said you would do anything for me. Do you remember?"

The fact that _he_ did broke her heart. She had been right, he still cared.

"Let her go, bastard!" Naruto shrieked. Kiba was holding him back, telling him to stay calm.

Sasuke's eyes started turning red, but he squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. When he opened them again they were black. "Sakura, you need to kill me. I can't hold Orochimaru back forever. I lost too much chakra fighting Itachi."

Sakura continued shaking her head and clawing at his long fingers around her neck.

"I've never asked for anything, Sakura," he pleaded, a hint of desperation in his voice. "Don't do it for me. Do it for my family. Do it for Konoha, if it's easier to think that way. But make sure you kill me." His grip tightened as his eyes changed to red and back again. "Now, dammit. Now's not the time to be annoying."

Shaking from sorrow, pain, and lack of oxygen, Sakura reached a hand into the pouch on her waist and pulled out a kunai. "I-I hope you d-don't mind tha-that I took this, Sa-Sasuke-kun," she choked out. He glanced down quickly and saw the Uchiha crest above the blade. He shook his head.

"I-I still lo-love you," she stammered out. He closed his eyes at the confession.

Blood splattered onto their faces and clothes as she wedged the kunai through his ribcage and into his heart. His eyes snapped open, but before the dangerous red and black of the Sharingan, Sakura saw yellow. The pressure around her neck tightened, threatening to snap the smooth column. Sakura felt herself lifted from the bough and squirmed, reaching for a shuriken. Her fingers slipped along the metal edge and her blood mixed with Sasuke's and Itachi's blood. Using all the power and control she could muster, she brought one of the points across Sasuke's neck, blood spraying onto her clothes, her hair, her face. Into her eyes and mouth. Sasuke immediately let go of her and she dropped onto the branch. Unable to regain her balance, she fell, her eyes never looking away from the collapsed figure of the one person that she'd ever give her heart to.


End file.
